I’ve heard the word ‘virus’ ever since I was a young boy, mostly when being visited by a doctor to look into a cold, who’d then inform my parents that I had ‘got a virus’. I used to imagine a virus as a tiny animal, perhaps some small mosquito, flying from one animal to the next, or from a person to another, to give him or her a hard time.
I was surprised to learn later on that a virus, although a being, is not strictly considered alive, as it does not have one of the principal attributes associated with living beings, that is the ability to reproduce independently. In fact, a virus first has to infect an extraneous cell in some way, insert its genome which defines its structure and functions (made from RNA – ribonucleic acid, or from DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid) in the cell, then finally replicates within the cell that is serving as its hotel.
I had heard the word ‘coronavirus’ the first time in the context of the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which is a pulmonary disease that also reared its head in China in 2003. The word ‘corona’ is a Latin one with means a crown or halo, and refers to the image of proteins resembling needles pointing outwards surrounding completely the virus, very much like a crown. These proteins are used to infect the external cell.
The SARS infection had jumped over to humans from a mammal called a civet, an animal that reminds me very much of a possum. The fatality rate is estimated at 9-12% of the 8000 infections that occurred.
SARS was not the first coronavirus that was discovered. In all there were seven that were found in mankind, the first in the sixties, and are one of the genuses of virus that result in colds. Other examples of coronavirus were found in other animals.
You might also remember MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) that originate in Saudi Arabia in 2012, infecting about 2000 people with a fatality rate of 30%.
This new virus seems to have originated in the city of Wuhan, in a fish market at the centre of the country, and up till now has spread to other countries in Asia, such as Japan, South Korea and Thailand amongst others. Several countries are on alert for its entry there. Apart from Asia, infections have been confirmed in Austrlaia, the United States and France, all with connection to Wuhan.
Although the implications of all this is of concern, until the time of writing there had not het been a declaration of a public health emergency by the WHO – World Health Organisation, although this declaration is being considered.
I remember the pandemonium that had arisen upon appearance of SARS and MERS, and fear another period on its way with many stories of concern, to be added to those about the bushfires spread out along the Australian continent that have been burning for months.
May God be with us!
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Il-kelma ‘virus’ ilni nismagħha minn meta kont tifel, l-iktar meta nkun invistat minn tabib għal xi riħ, u jinforma lill-ġenituri tiegħi li kont ‘laqqatt virus’. Kont nimmaġina lil virus bħala xi speċi ta’ annimal żgħir ħafna, forsi xi nemusa żgħira, li kien itir minn annimal għall-ieħor, jew bniedem għall-ieħor, biex itih kedda.
Kont sorpriż nitgħallem iktar ‘il quddiem li l-virus, għalkemm ħlieqa, mhix strettament meqjusa ħajja, għax m’għandhiex wieħed mill-attributi prinċipali assoċjati mal-ħlejjaq ħajjin, jiġifieri dik li tirriproduċi ruħha waħedha. Fil-fatt, il-virus l-ewwel tinfetta xi ċellula barranija b’xi mod, iddeffes il-ġenomu li jiddefinixxu l-istruttura u l-funzjonijiet tagħha (magħmul mill-RNA – ribonucleic acid jew mid-DNA – deoxyribonucleic acid) fiċ-cellula, imbagħad tirreplika fiċ-ċellula li tkun qed isservi ta’ lukanda.
Il-kelma ‘coronavirus’ smajtha għall-ewwel darba fil-kuntest tal-infezzjoni SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) li hija marda tal-pulmun li wkoll kienet tfaċċat fiċ-Ċina fl-2003. Il-kelma ‘corona’ hija waħda Latina li tfisser kuruna jew raġġiera, tirreferi għad-dehra tal-proteini b’forma ta’ labar li jkunu mdawrin kompletament madwar il-virus, appuntu qishom ‘kuruna’. Dawn il-proteini jintużaw biex jinfettaw liċ-ċellula barranija.
L-infezzjoni tas-SARS kien qabeż minn mammalu jismu civet, annimal li narah jixbaħ mhux ħażin lill-possum. Ir-rata ta’ fatalità hija stmata li hija ta’ 9-12% tat-8000 infezzjonijiet li seħħew.
Is-SARS ma kinetx l-ewwel coronavirus li ġiet skoperta. B’kollox hemm sebgħa li ġew misjuba fil-bniedem, l-ewwel waħda fis-sittinijiet, u huma waħda mill-ġnus ta’ virus li jikkawżaw l-irjeħat fin-nies. Eżempji oħra ta’ coronavirus nstabu f’annimali oħra,
Forsi tiftakru wkoll il-MERS (Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome) li oriġinat fl-Arabja Sawdita fl-2012, u infettat lil xi 2000 ruħ b’fatalità ta’ 30%.
Din il-virus il-ġdid jidher li oriġinat fil-belt ta’ Wuhan, f’suq tal-ħut fiċ-ċentru tal-pajjiż, u s’issa nxtered f’xi pajjiżi oħra fl-Asja, bħall-Ġappun, il-Korea t’Isfel u t-Tajlandja fost l-oħrajn. Diversi pajjiżi qiegħdin għassa għad-dħul tiegħu fil-pajjiż. Barra l-Asja, ġew ikkonfermati infezzjonijiet fl-Awstralja, l-Istati Uniti u Franza, kollha b’konnessjoni ma’ Wuhan.
Għalkemm hemm tħassib dwar l-implikazzjonijiet ta’ dan kollu, sakemm qed jinkiteb dan l-artiklu kienet għadha ma ġietx iddikjarata emerġenza tas-saħħa pubblika mill-Organizzazzjoni Dinjija tas-Saħħa (WHO – World Health Organisation), għalkemm din id-dikjarazzjoni qiegħda tiġi kkunsidrata.
Niftakar il-pandemonju li kien qam meta kienu tfaċċaw is-SARS u l-MERS, u wisq nibża li ġej żmien ieħor ta’ stejjer ta’ preokkupazzjoni, biex inżiduhom ma’ dawk fuq in-nirien mifruxa mal-kontinent Awstraljan li ilhom jaħarqu x-xhur.
Alla magħna!
1https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51185836, retrieved 21/1/2019
1https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-51185836, retrieved 21/1/2019
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